Energy prices costing the earth? Gas bill just come in and is already starting to bite? There seems no end to the rise in energy costs to heat the home these days, although the government is trying to step in to alleviate the problem.
As consumers we know the energy companies will find a way to pass on the cost no matter how much they are fined or regulated. So it is up to ourselves to find a way to combat high energy bills and there are several different aspects and avenues to consider when doing so.
A little over one hundred years ago society was different, homes containing different classes and backgrounds of citizens used to create their own energy. That is of course until the National Grid stepped in and resold energy in the early part of the 20th century.
There is no law in the land that says you need rely on this meddling medium operator any longer. What was once a cheap provider of energy for the home and an alternative source, is now becoming a bugbear and hostile reseller of energy which we ourselves, if we put our mind to it, can get cheaper by creating our own.
Solar Panels For Profit And Lowering Energy Costs
In the past, households, both manor homes in the country side and terraced houses in the streets of Manchester, London and Edinburgh were used to utilising open fires, burning coal and wood.
Today, emissions rules are tighter but you can still use wood fuels as a heat source in the home. But what about light generation? A way to escape rising energy costs is to become your very own national grid and create your own power.
By investing in solar panels you are taking a firm grasp of your own energy future. The UK government, like many others around the world, have offered a feed in tariff to all homeowners and businesses who install solar panels to generate electricity for their own home.
This not only ensures you can use a range of grants, loans and free solar panel solutions to get them in place but allows you to earn money by selling spare electricity generated, directly back to the National Grid itself. You can even cut the grid off altogether and save the energy you create during the day, in a battery for night time use.
Old Boilers and Ageing Central Heating Systems
While tackling the source of energy costs, you need to ask yourself if your home is making the best use of the energy coming into the property too. Old appliances and old boilers with ageing central heating systems are some of the worst culprits for adding on the pounds when it comes to quarterly billing - especially the cost for Winter.
Research from Adey Professional Heating Solutions has shown that a large percentage of the country's homeowners may well be handing hundreds of pounds more to electricity and gas companies than they need to. More than they would be if they were maintaining their boilers and heating system better and on a more regular basis.
Of the 1300 people surveyed, 45% suggested that they have a boiler between ten and fifteen years old and 25% claim they never have the boiler serviced. While some combi boilers can work magically for years without maintenance. It's possible to contemplate that an unserviced boiler in these 25% of homes could be costing the homeowner hundreds of pounds in an unnecessary overuse of energy.
Boiler Servicing and New Boiler Spare Parts
ADEY surveyed 1,300 UK homeowners and found 55% to have an annual boiler service, with one in 20 feeling that having their boiler serviced is an expense they could well do without. It is this mind boggling analogy which keeps the energy companies raking in so much money.
A boiler which goes unchecked can develop problems. An annual boiler service can not only save your life in ensuring it operates to the correct standards and that any carbon monoxide is venting properly but it can also ensure the boiler and the entire central heating system is in good working order. A faulty boiler can increase the amount of energy used both manually and through cause. Adey's research found that 30% of home owners have problems with their central heating system.
If a boiler doesn't create the right amount of heat as it should, then the home owner usually turns the boiler's thermostat up higher to compensate. 15% of those surveyed said they do this to 'fix' their boiler. This pushes the boiler to work even harder leading to an eventual breakdown requiring heater spares and boiler spares and a more costly servicing.
In turn, pushing your boiler when it only needed maintenance, and increasing the amount of energy used to get more heat will cost you hundreds of pounds more over winter, when a boiler service would have been much cheaper in the long run. One in twenty experience low heat levels, which again suggests they're paying too much on energy and needlessly.
Step back from the edge of the cliff and reclaim your money from those those energy supping old boilers, decrepit central heating systems and your ongoing reliance on the National Grid. Take control of your energy usage and save hundreds and possibly thousands a year by using solar panels, having an annual boiler service with cheap boiler spares replacement and central heating maintenance.
